


Guardians

by I_Live_In_A_Trash_Can



Series: Guardianverse Sides [1]
Category: Sanders Sides, Thomas Sanders (Video Blogging RPF) - Fandom, Video Blogging RPF
Genre: Fluff and Angst, Full of headcannons, Gen, Ghost!sides, Guardianverse, How Do I Tag, ghosts!au, kind of, shipy if you squint
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-16
Updated: 2017-10-16
Packaged: 2019-01-18 02:52:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,733
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12379392
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_Live_In_A_Trash_Can/pseuds/I_Live_In_A_Trash_Can
Summary: The Sides have a secret that they are suddenly forced to tell





	Guardians

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Whispers](https://archiveofourown.org/works/12320976) by [imthederpyfox](https://archiveofourown.org/users/imthederpyfox/pseuds/imthederpyfox). 



> This was a headcannon I was inspired to write and post after reading Whispers (hence the work's 'Inspired by')
> 
> Also enjoy the references. There are a couple in there.
> 
> (Also swearing, suicide references)

Thomas slowly sat up, letting out a yawn. He absentmindedly reached over for his phone, checking the time. It was almost noon. He was confused for a second; normally he couldn't sleep in this late without one of his Sides waking him up (usually Logan). He took a moment to check in on his Sides. All of them were awake, which was also rather strange. Normally Virgil slept in longer than this. He couldn't find Roman or Virgil, and Logan was occupied, but he was able to give a quick 'Hello' to Patton.

_"Ah, good morning! Er, afternoon," the fatherly Side returned._

_"Not quite there yet."_

Thomas returned to reality, blinking sleep out of his eyes. He got up and stretched before making his way down to the kitchen. He paused at the top of the stairs, however. He heard two voices, apparently having an argument. He faintly perceived that they sounded like him...

 _'Roman and Virgil?'_ He wondered to himself. He stepped down a little, hoping it would help him hear what's going on better.

"Well excuse me for being curious! It seems a bit off for me that after years of knowing each other, all of a sudden now you know your name."

That was Roman's voice sure enough, and Thomas could only assume he was referring to Virgil.

"I always remembered my name, excuse me for not wanting to trust you at first."

"Why not? Was it not clear that we all were one and the same-"

"I wouldn't say that exactly."

"If it makes you feel any better, I don't remember anything from before."

"That really doesn't make me feel any different. I'm still mad at you for trying to interrogate me on this, and even more angry that you chose to do it in Thomas' living room of all places. You realize he could walk in at any time and hear this, right Royal Pain?"

"Well, Dead Goth and Beyond, Thomas is sleeping."

"And what if he wakes up?" Virgil's voice fell quiet. "What if he woke up because he heard us arguing?"

"He can literally sleep through anything."

"Still, you know as well as I do that Thomas can't find out about this."

"What's so urgent that I can't know about?" Thomas interjected, finishing his walk down the stairs. When he entered the living room, Roan was sitting on the couch with Virgil standing beside him. Both were frozen in shock, staring at their host.

"Oh good morning, Thomas! About time you woke up. Wow, what a wonderful day it is!" Roman chirped, a broad smile filling his face.

"Not falling for it."

"Worth a shot."

"But seriously though, what's so important?" Thomas glanced between Roman and Virgil, who was still dumbfounded. The Anxious Side seemed to snap out of it, however, and quickly attempted to exit the room.

"I told you, Roman. I warned you, but you didn't listen. You never do."

"Virgil-"

"No, Virgil, please-"

He had already sunk down, back into the mindscape.

"Alright, we gotta solve this."

Thomas gestured for Roman to move over to his corner of the room. He hesitated before doing so.

"Patton, Logan! And Virgil, get back here!"

The three emerged, though Virgil's arrival was noticeably delayed.

"Good morn-ernoon again, Thomas," Patton quipped.

"Morn-ernoon? Patton, that's not a word."

"It can be if I want it to be, Logan."

"Guys."

The Sides (minus Virgil) looked to Thomas.

"I need an explanation of something..."

"A topic you've been researching on but are having difficulties with? A term or process of which you are unfamiliar with?" Logan suggested.

"Need help with adultery?" Patton asked.

"That's not- never mind. It has come to my attention that, correct me if I'm wrong, all of you have been hiding something from me."

Patton glanced at his fellow Sides in shock. Logan simply looked confused. Roman was noticeably slouched and uncharacteristically quiet. Virgil cowered further into his hoodie.

"What makes you say that, kiddo?"

"I was just going to come downstairs to get breakfast, when Roman and Virgil were arguing in the living room. They said something about hiding something from me... I assumed that you two were in on it too, but I wasn't certain."

Logan glanced at Virgil before turning his attention to Roman. "What were you fighting about this time?"

Roman sighed, growling, "I was an idiot and I started questioning Virgil about... something Thomas isn't supposed to know about."

"Can you be more specific?"

He sighed even louder. "Specifically, about... memories."

Logan appeared stumped, before his face lit up with realization. "Oh! Oh....."

"Wait I'm still confused what?" Patton chimed in.

Logan pinched the bridge of his nose just below his glasses. "Still clueless as ever."

"WAIT is it about the- Ohhhhh yup it is. Yeah that... this shouldn't be happening."

"So you ALL know about this something, but... For whatever reason, you can't tell me?"

"That is an accurate statement."

"Why."

"Well-" Patton cut himself off, debating what to say.

"We weren't allowed to," Logan explained instead, shooting a stern glance toward Roman.

"Not allowed to? By who?"

"More like 'what'," murmured Patton, and he too received Logan's glare.

"What?! Ok now I'm completely confused. Listen, guys, it kind of hurts to know this has been happening. How long has this little 'secret' gone on? And why and how are you not allowed?!?!"

Virgil gave a quiet hiss as Thomas became more stressed.

Almost a minute of silence passed before Roman muttered, "Should we just tell him?"

The Sides exchanged looks among themselves, before Logan sighed. "It might not be the most logical decision, but it seems like we have no choice."

"So... who explains it?" Patton inquired.

Silence for a few more seconds.

"Alright, I shall try and do my best," Logan began. He turned to face Thomas. "We're not exactly... We were never intended to become your 'personality'. We didn't start that way, and technically, we're not entirely... you."

Thomas blinked, but saved his questions for later.

"We're spirits. We've died before you were even born. However, we've each been unable to pass on for our own individual reasons. We've been... assigned in a way. We're supposed to guide you through your life and protect you to the best of our abilities. Like a guardian of sorts."

Thomas gathered his thoughts before nodding.

"I don't know much about what we are besides from my own experience because, like it was mentioned before, we are prohibited from telling our host about what we are. We are told to let our host interpret our presence how they will."

"How does this happen?"

"Well, when we die, our spirits are stopped before they can pass into the afterlife. It means we've had an unsuccessful life, or we haven't done very much good in the world. So, we're assigned to a human. We have to guide them through life until they die at a healthy age. If something goes awry, were the one who's blamed for it. We can't pass into the afterlife until we succeed."

"So, you're literally like guardian angels."

"But not angels."

Thomas took a seat on the couch and motioned for Logan to continue.

"From what I've gathered, it's rare to have more than one of us. Extremely rare to have more than two. I've guided several times before, and I've always been alone in doing so, up until now."

"I've guided once before, alone as well," Patton whispered. "It... didn't go well."

"I believe that the sheer number of us is what caused us to take on separate personality traits. However, I also believe that what traits we assume are influenced by what limited information we have from our past lifestyle."

"Um, can you... clarify a bit? What do you mean by limited information?"

"We don't remember most of what our life was like. Generally, we can only remember our name and how we died. Some can remember a bit more in-depth, and others can recall exact memories from their lives. I've met someone who can't even remember what their name was. It varies. Sometimes we can obtain memories later on, while guiding."

Logan gave Thomas a moment to process this.

After a minute, Thomas inquired, "Are you... happy with this? Like, are you ok with being my 'personality' of sorts?"

The question was met with silence. After a moment of hesitation, Logan spoke up. "I for one am ok with it. This is certainly my most successful run- yet at least. I feel like I've connected with you more than anyone else, and I must admit, it does help to know that I'm not alone."

Patton was on the verge of tears. "You guys are all my family, you know that right? I love you all so much."

Roman looked up from the floor. "I wouldn't have it any other way. I've had so much fun, and I've made so many good memories."

Virgil remained silent.

"... Virgil? Are you ok back there?" Thomas called from the couch.

He stiffened, looking up for the first time since he had been called back in. He hesitated, before responding, "This is the closest I've ever been to a family in ages. And I... I guess it's... not that bad..."

"Carry on my shadowed son, and don't. You. Cry. No. More," wailed Patton.

"Well, that settles it. I'll still call you my Sides, and you have been and always will be family to me. I'm sorry for pushing you guys into telling me, I was overreacting a little- or a lot. And... I hope this doesn't change anything between us."

"Hopefully not," Roman agreed. Logan gave a nod.

"But... if you don't mind me asking... how did you guys die? If you're ok with telling, that is."

The four grew quiet.

"I... When I was alive I was a dad too," Patton began. "I had two kids. I lived with a beautiful wife. She was my true love. But... apparently I wasn't hers. She divorced me and took the kids. I was still so young... I didn't know what to do. I loved them all so much, and I couldn't stand being away from them. Whenever the kids came to visit I gave them as much love as I could, but they always had to leave again. Always had to go back to their mother. I was fired from my job, I could hardly pay rent. I was constantly running low on food. Couldn't get another job no matter how hard I tried. My old wife stopped the kids from seeing me. She hated me, but I missed her so much... When I finally got a new job I was already having troubles. I was sad all the time and I hated it. I was sick of everything. I just wanted to go back to how things once were. The job was terrible too. The boss was too strict. One day I was just... done..." he sobbed, hugging himself. "I jumped out the window. I barely had enough time to- to regret my decision-"

He broke off into a sobbing fit. 

"Wow... Patton. I'm so sorry..."

"I-It's okay, kiddo. N-now I have you... All of you... And I can make sure that you don't have to go through that."

"Um," Logan muttered, "I don't have as nearly a clear recollection of my life. I was a scholar, quite a while back. Can't remember the exact era. I devoted most of my time to research and studying. In fact... At one point I devoted all of my time towards my research. I believe I died from one big combination of not-taking-care-of-myself."

"Wow... Again, wow. Now I see why you're so adamant about eating regular healthy meals and hygiene, etc.."

Logan gave a small nod.

"Believe it or not, I wasn't an actual prince," Roman said with a wistful smile. "I don't remember when I was alive. Not exactly, at least. There was some sort of war. Can't recall where it was, or which one. My life was about as boring as it could get. I can't remember what exactly I did for a living, all I remember was that it was monotonous. I didn't do anything, really. I chose to be 'normal' instead of being different and standing out. I was too scared to. I was certain I'd get rejected or cast aside. I think I died from old age. Not certain."

Virgil slowly felt all eyes fall upon him.

_'No. No. No. Please no, not me-'_

"You don't have to say anything if you don't want to..."

Virgil took a deep breath. 

In for four; one... two... three... four...

Hold for seven; one... two... three... four... five... six... seven...

Out for eight; one... two... three... four... five... six... seven... eight...

"I was a king. Can't remember where, or which kingdom. Medieval times, obviously. I was rich as hell. I lived in my castle, mainly. I spent my days drinking and feasting. I thought I was the best guy to ever exist. I thought I deserved everything I had and then some. But then, trouble arrived. Trouble I couldn't solve with money. My kingdom became locked in war. I taxed my people to the ends of the earth, not wanting to lose any of my fortune. Eventually, they called me out on my BS and assassinated me. I died as I lived; sitting on my throne drinking. The kingdom collapsed, as far as I'm concerned. So many people were killed because of what I did. I couldn't get my head out of my ass for long enough to take note of what they needed, how they felt. I couldn't save them."

The room was dead silent.

"Better to get it said and done, I guess," Virgil muttered, pulling his hood over his face.

"Does that... does that have anything to do with how you treat me?" Roman inquired.

"Yes, in fact it does. After we first met, whenever you walked into the freaking room my mind started raising a million red flags. I was scared that... that you were another me. Sometimes I still worry about that. I don't want something bad to happen to Thomas because of it."

"You don't trust me?"

"Literally every time I see you I see me. It only _just_ started to get better."

"How do you think I feel? The only thing I remember from my life was sacrificing uniqueness, joy and creativity because of fear and -cough cough- ANXIETY."

"Guys, please," Thomas whispered. "I think it's clear by now that you all balance each other out. I don't lean too much one way or the other, and at the same time, I've learned how to stay happy," he gestured to Patton, "Keep myself healthy," he gestured to Logan, "Not let myself get too cocky," he gestured to Virgil, "And to not be afraid to chase my dreams," he gestured to Roman. "So I'd say that you're all doing your jobs pretty nicely. I wouldn't trade you guys for the world. You all are so special to me. I've said it before, and I cannot say it enough. I love you guys. I couldn't live without you."

Thomas gave each of them a smile. Patton shyly blew kisses. Logan let him self feel emotion for once and smile as well. Roman sent an apologetic smile towards Virgil, too. Virgil stopped burrowing into his hoodie. And in that moment, the 'wall' dropped.

No one knew how the 'wall' got there, but it stopped the Sides from leaving their corners. It was a mystery as well how it worked. But once it dropped, they all felt it. Patton took that moment to rush forward and pull Thomas into a hug, which he gladly returned. Roman came forward into the hug as well. Logan lingered nearby, but didn't quite join until Patton pulled him in. Virgil stayed where he was. The group looked up at him.

"Virge. I know you wanna join in," Thomas called.

"Get over here, Hot Topic," Roman sent him a wink.

"I'm surprised to find myself enjoying this," Logan noted.

"Come on, kiddo. Please?" Patton begged.

Virgil sighed. "Only because Patton asked."

He reluctantly joined in on the hug. The five remained there for several minutes, just enjoying each other's company. No matter what, they were family.

 

 

And you can't spell 'family' without I-L-Y.

**Author's Note:**

> Loved it? Hated it? Let me know. I know it has a few bugs to work out, but if you want clarification on a topic or want more of this kind of story say something! I'd be glad to write some more of this.


End file.
